by PopMatters Staff

The easy-going vibes of Tightropes may hearken back to the '70s, but those golden tones are just the starting point for what's a current new album by Los Angeles' Tall Tales and the Silver Lining.

The easy-going vibes of Tightropes may hearken back to the ‘70s, but those golden tones are just the starting point for what’s a vibrant and current effort by Los Angeles’ Tall Tales and the Silver Lining. As frontman Trevor Beld Jimenez describes Tightropes, “It’s not a concept album by any means, but its themes are about an everyday person’s struggles and triumphs. Musically, it’s a nod to the stuff I grew up on: Jackson Browne, Carole King, Neil Young, and also bands that I discovered on my own like Felt and the Smiths.”

While you get what Beld Jimenez means when you hear Tightropes, a better point of reference might be a more contemporary one, as the album brings to mind a more pop-minded War on Drugs. And beyond any musical resonances Tall Tales and the Silver Lining share with War on Drugs, it’s more the general spirit and feel that they have in common, in the way they take familiar musical themes and then put a twist on them.

Tightropes comes out via Other Music on 24 February. Tall Tales and the Silver Lining will be playing throughout California in February and March: